1. Field of the Invention
Implementations of various technologies described herein generally relate to monitoring fugitive emissions and management of response to triggering events in connection with monitoring fugitive emissions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Industrial plants that handle volatile organic compounds (VOCs) sometimes experience unwanted emissions of those compounds into the atmosphere from point sources, such as smokestacks, and non-point sources, such as valves, pumps, and/or vessels containing the VOCs. Emissions from non-point sources typically occur due to leakage of the VOCs from joints and/or seals and may be referred to herein as “fugitive emissions”. Fugitive emissions from control valves typically occur as leakage through the packing set around the valve stem. Control valves used in demanding service conditions involving large temperature fluctuations and frequent movements of the valve stem commonly suffer accelerated deterioration of the valve stem packing set.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has promulgated regulations specifying maximum permitted leakage of certain hazardous air pollutants, such as benzene, toluene, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, from certain components, e.g., control valves, pump seals, compressor agitators, valves, pipe connectors and the like. As such, the regulations require facility operators to perform periodic surveys of the emissions from these components. The survey interval frequency may be monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual. If the facility operator can document that a certain percentage of the components with excessive leakage are below a prescribed minimum, the required surveys become less frequent. Thus, achieving a low percentage of leaking valves reduces the number of surveys required per year, which may result in large cost savings.
In addition to conducting the surveys, facility operators may be required to comply with an array of regulatory, safety and commercial parameters. For example, facility operators may be required to repair identified leaks on the components and generate reports with proper codes in compliance regulatory, safety and commercial parameters. As another example, facility operators may be required to maintain proper calibration on the toxic vapor analyzers used to monitor the leakage. Most, if not all, of the surveys and compliance are typically performed manually by technicians. Unfortunately, due to the wide array of compliance parameters, some of these parameters are often not met.